I love to hate you
by genibeechan
Summary: After being kicked out of his own home, Arthur sets off to make the best life that he can for his son. He realizes quickly that he is surrounded by supportive friends that are like a family to him. Including Francis, someone from his past he thought he could never forgive. FrUk (more pairings to be added later)
1. Chapter 1

A/N- This story is already posted on my ao3 account under listen_to_your_senpai, but I never got around to posting it here. Anyway, the next chapter should be up within the next two days since it's already been a while since I posted this on that site. Enjoy my fellow face lovers~

Another day starts. Another pointless dreary day. I'm already wishing to curl up under my covers before I even leave my room. I glance around the darkened room with a lazy glare. At 6:00 AM I am not the most sociable person. This won't stop me, though. I've been on my own for 8 months now. That jackass kicked me to the curb with a small 5 year old to take care of after a fight. Of course we had been together since sophomore year in high school and that's why my parents kicked me out. They couldn't stand me being gay. After we turned twenty, we adopted Alfred. He was such a cute todler, and growing so quickly. A ghost of a smile crosses over my face as I think about him, asleep tucked into his bed. Right, this is for him after all so I can do this with a pleasant smile. I get ready for work quickly, Alfred wouldn't want to leave my side today, as always, but being that it's Friday I'll be able to devote as much time to him as he wants this weekend. Being a single parent is hard especially when his lousy father wants nothing to do with him. Well, of course I'm referring to his other father. He, in fact, calls me-"Daddy?" a childish yawn can be heard from behind me and I wear a warm smile. Yep, that's it. I turn to look at Alfred to see him rubbing his eyes, tears pricking the corners. This isn't a rare occurrence, unfortunately. In fact this happened almost daily. "What is it love?" the same question as always as if I don't know that he misses him. Misses his other father. He was fine for the first week or so, thinking it was only temporary, but now he realized his father won't be coming back. He isn't old enough to understand but I've noticed it has cut into his sleep. The poor boy is developing bags under his eyes. Truly a pitiful sight. But I can't worry about that now. If I do I won't be able to focus at work and I can't afford to lose this job. We are so much better off than I could have hoped for, the only issue is the hours. I shake these thoughts from my head as Alfred looks at the ground and I realize he never answered me. I sigh and lift him up ,cradling his small frame and rocking him gently. "Lets go, you have to get ready quickly today" I say as I whisk the boy off to his room. He nods slowly as I help him change clothes, brush his hair and teeth, and get him out the door of our two bedroom apartment. I hold his hand as I pull him along on the way to a door directly across from ours. I tap on the door quickly to see it opened by a short raven haired boy with an emotionless expression. Alfred smiles upon seeing the boy and giggles. "Kiku!" he says to the boy who couldn't be any older than 12 or 13. "Konnichiwa, Alfred-kun" Kiku says with a small smile. Kiku looks up at me before continuing to speak. "Onii-chan is in the kitchen making breakfast" I nod in response as Kiku steps out of the way to let me in. I cross through the apartment on my way to the kitchen while Alfred runs off to play with Kiku's other siblings.

"Good morning, Yao" I say with a smile upon entering the room.

Yao turns to look at me with a glare.

"Has Alfred been getting enough sleep, aru?" He questions and narrows his eyes

I sigh and stare at the ground.

"No, the poor lad is still sleep deprived" I mumble. i don't look up to see Yao's expression, but I can tell he's as concerned as I am. Yao has known Alfred ever since he was born. In fact, he was the one who helped me convince his father to adopt him. Yao shakes his head and sighs.

"I'll see if I can get him to nap today, but he really is an energetic child." he says. I smile again and thank him. But he's already rushing me out the door claiming I would be late if I didn't hurry. With a quick good bye to alfred, I'm out of the building and on my way to work.

I arrive at about 7 and walk into the large building and head straight inside. I'm a waiter at a very popular and very expensive restaurant. Most people would assume that I wouldn't make that much money here, however the customers tip well and my hourly pay is much better than that of an average waiter. I tie on my apron as I begin preparing tables since this resteraunt is busy from 8 am to 10 pm 7 days a week, I'm able to get as many hours as I want. And of course this means I work a lot, but I can't say it's not a pleasant job. From across the dining hall I can already see Elizaveta getting ready to start working, and near the back entrance I see Rodrich entering as well. The two Italian twins are already in the kitchen, and Antonio is antagonizing the older of the two. I shake my head and sigh.

Once customers arrive I take orders and bring them to the kitchen.

"I have an idea thay may just be crazy enough to work! Get your god damn lazy ass out there and take those assholes' orders, you dumb bastard!" Lovino hisses in a sarcastic and bitter tone.

"Fratello, be nice!" Feliciano whines.

But Antonio just smiles and laughs, pinching Lovino's cheek.

"Lovi, you're so cute when you're angry" he says as he walks out of the kitchen and leaves a seething Italian behind him. I roll my eyes and give them the orders I had received and bring out a tray of beverages to be given to my tables. This would be considered a normal day for me, not that I can really complain. This job could be pretty entertaining. My hours fly by, and my shift is almost over after almost thirteen hours when I sit down near the kitchen for a short break. Elizaveta walks over to me with a smile and leans against the wall next to me.

"Go on home, Arthur. you need a break" I smile at Elizaveta and nod.

"I'll see you Monday" I say with a wave as I exit the building.

Before heading home I stop by a bookstore searching for a new book to read along with finding a comic book to read with Alfred on my spare time. I walk down an aisle dedicated to fantasy novels and I scan the shelves for a good book before bumping into someone in my distracted state.

"So sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going" I quickly spill out before looking at the man I ran into. For some reason he stares back at me with a look of surprise and his eyes are widened.

"Arthur?" He asks and it hits me. I couldn't have forgotten that voice.

"Francis? What are you doing here, you moved out of the state years ago!" I say with a bitter tone. It had been 7 years to be exact. He moved at the end of our freshman year in high school. The blond male's face lights up with a brilliant smile.

"I moved back about a couple months ago" he says happily. I roll my eyes.

"Good to know. Now if you'll excuse me-" I say, whirling around and steping in the opposite direction. The man repulses me. Ever since he left he has.

"Arthur, wait!" He grabs my wrist and pulls me back. I glare back and tug my wrist away, my effort is fruitless as he just holds on tighter.

"What do you want, frog" I demand

"I heard about your seperation" Francis's face has a look of pity on it. Great, the last thing I wanted was for that bloody twat to pity me.

"Yeah, so?" I sneer

"You made it perfectly clear that you never wanted us to last anyways!"

"Mon cheri, I never wanted you to" Francis shakes his head and sighs.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means he was never good for you. You could have done better"

"Could I have? With who, you? You left!" I cross my arms and narrow my eyes.

I can see the look on Francis's face. I hurt him with that. God knows why. I roll my eyes and walk away muttering "I have to go" the wish of buying a new book long forgotten. I couldn't blame the man for moving. His family chose to. But the man had tried countless times to get me to dump my boyfriend for him. And that last time I was foolish enough to actually think I might have been happier with him. But the next day he had told me he was moving. Not in a couple months, but the next day they were leaving. He had known that entire time and hadn't told me till the last minute. And of course I still haven't forgiven him. We lost contact after that so I never thought I would have to, anyways.

Once I leave the bookstore I head straight home and go to Yao's apartment. He wasn't too much older than me, but he had his younger siblings to take care of. Since we had known each other for so long, he babysits Alfred for me during the day while he works from home.

When I walk inside Alfred runs straight for me and hugs me tightly.

"You were late" he says with a pout. I give him an apologetic smile and ruffle his hair.

"I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you. This weekend i won't be working, so I'll take you to the park tomorrow" I say softly. Alfred beams and jumps up, cheering happily.

I take the boy back to our own apartment and use the rest of my night to spend time with him, forgetting about the less pleasant encounter I had dealt with.


	2. Chapter 2

A/n: sorry this took longer than I expected! I had this chapter done this morning but it's hard to post from my phone, anyways enjoy!

Saturday morning. Filled with sunshine, happiness, and my failed attempt at cooking. To say I'm lucky is an understatement, Alfred doesn't seem to mind too much and I'm thankful for that. As promised we were going to spend the entire day together so I started it off by making him breakfast, getting him dressed, and leaving our apartment. So by noon we were at a local park where I can just let Alfred run and play. Not only that, but since he hasn't started school just yet he enjoys coming here where he can meet new friends so that's an added bonus to our little trips to the park. I sit on a bench and watch as the boy runs about with a child who looks to be only slightly older than him. I find it odd, however, that the boy is wearing a scarf in the middle of the summer heat. As I ponder this, a woman holding a little girl in her arms approaches me and sits beside me on the bench wearing a warm smile.  
"My little brother seems to have taken a liking to your son" She says happily. The little girl starts squirming out of the woman's arms and whining.  
"I want to go play with big brother!" she cries out. She is set on the ground and before I could even blink she had taken off running towards the two boys to play.  
"May I ask your name?" I ask the girl.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Katyusha. Over there is my little brother Ivan, and little sister Natalia" Katyusha points to the two children that had accompanied her.  
"Pleased to meet you, my name is Arthur. My son, Alfred, sure seems to enjoy playing with your little brother and sister" I chuckle.  
"I'm so glad, they haven't been able to make any other friends since schooo hasn't started yet, so I've been trying to give them every chance I can" Katyusha beams. "Will Alfred be starting school this fall?"  
"Yes, he will. It'll be nice for him to have someone he knows before he starts" I nod.  
Katyusha and I continue with a pleasant conversation for a while longer until we both look up and realize that there was another child playing with the trio.  
"That's odd, I didn't notice this fellow playing with them before" I say. The boy bore a striking resemblance to Alfred in a way, his hair was a paler shade, and his eyes were purple, But besides that, they looked like they could be-  
"Hello, Arthur~" I hear that sickening voice again, 'what is he doing here?' I ask myself with an annoyed glare  
"Francis, don't you have anything better to do than creep around a children's park?" I sigh.  
"I'll have you know that I came here with my son" Francis retorts and points to the boy I had noticed.  
"Ah, so you had a child? Good for you" I roll my eyes with fake amusement.  
"Ah, not exactly" Francis's voice lowers a bit to a more serious tone. "He was my sister's child"  
"What, what happened to your sister?" I was shocked, I had known them both growing up, of course I hadn't spoken with her much, I knew Francis cared for her deeply.  
"She passed away when Matthew was only 3, so I took him in"  
"Francis, I'm so sorry. I had no idea" I held actual sorrow in my voice, forgetting about my petty anger towarss the man before me for the moment.  
"Don't be, there's no way you could have known" Francis says with a sad smile. "Anyways, Matthew and I were about to head to the store to get him new clothes for school, I saw you here so I figured I might as well strike up a conversation. And Apologize, I thought you would have gotten over my mistake from high school" he admits.  
"Look, I know I shouldn't still be angry, but seeing you again just renewed those feelings" I mumble.  
"Are feelings of anger the only ones that had been renewed?" a blush covers my cheeks at that. Before I open my mouth to respond I remember that Katyusha was still sitting next to me. I look over to her to see her twiddling her thumbs and humming awkwardly as she tries to mind her own business.  
"Katyusha, sorry about that" I laugh weakly.  
"Oh, what? It's nothing really! I just didn't want to interrupt" she babbles out quickly with a laugh. "But really I should get going, I just remembered I had a thing I had to do" she says as she tries to come up with a quick excuse "I uh, have to go wash my cat!" she yells out. Natalia walks over to her with an unamused expression.  
"Big sister, we don't have a cat" she pouts.  
"Oh, really? I'm sorry but I need to go buy a cat!" the Ukrainian woman laughs and scoops both of her siblings into her arms as she runs off. "That woman is terrible at lying" Francis raises an eyebrow.  
"You're telling me. But I still feel bad, that must have been awkward for her" I look back at Alfred and Matthew who had started walking towards us smiling.  
"Papa, can Alfred come shopping with us?" Matthew asks with a shy smile.  
"Well, that's up to Arthur" Francis says and looks at me with a smile. I frown, while the last thing on earth I wanted to spend my weekend doing was putting up with Francis, I did need to get new clothes for Alfred as well.  
"Fine, but the only reason I'm saying yes is because I needed to go shoping with him anyways" I shrug. There was no other reason. Not even one.  
"Ah, sure, Arthur" Francis grins  
Both Alfred and Matthew cheer in unison at this.  
The four of us walk to a nearby clothing store and I help Alfred pick out clothes he likes, and make sure he doesn't try to get anything too ridiculous. After finding many shirts and pants he can wear, we move on to shoes. I had been so distracted by helping Alfred look that I had almost forgotten we had come with Francis and Matthew. In fact I hadn't even remembered until Alfred asked me to get a similar pair of shoes as to what Matthew was getting.  
"If you two dressed the same way, you could look like twins" I laugh as Matthew and Alfred try on their shoes.  
"We look like brothers?" Alfred asks with a wide smile. His eyes shine at the thought of having a brother.  
"Yes, just look at how similar you two are" Francis nods towards a mirror. The two boys giggle and run off to look at the mirror together.  
"While I highly doubt those two are related, it'd be funny if they were"  
"Isn't Matthew your sister's child, though?" I ask with a confused tone.  
"Non, actually she adopted Matthew. But what are the chances that they're brothers" Francis laughs.  
"You're right, but it's a nice thought" I nod.  
A creepy smile makes its way onto Francis's face and the Frenchman wraps an arm around my waist.  
"You know, Arthur, if we got married they'd be brothers!"  
"Froggy bastard! Stop touching me" I push Francis away with a blush and stare at the ground.  
"Awe with features that cute, I wouldn't mind marrying you. You could be a really cute house wife" Francis jokes but then stops himself. "On second thought, I'd rather keep you out of the kitchen" he says quickly with a sickened look. I glare in response.  
"My cooking isn't that bad!" I scoff and cross my arms  
"Remember that time you set your kitchen on fire?" Francis sighs  
"That was 7 years ago!" I defend. I may not be the best cook, but I have yet to poison anyone Alfred doesn't seem to mind it much.  
"Well, I'm worried about your poor son, maybe I should make you both dinner some time"  
"Well I'm not opposed to that, what day would you have in mind?" I mutter. Only because it'd be nice to have someone else cook for us, that doesn't change the fact that I'd still rather it be anyone else but him.  
"What about tomorrow night?" Francis suggests.  
"That sounds fine by me" I nod. I wouldn't have to make dinner plans, and Alfred could have someone to play with.  
"It'll be a play date for the little ones" I add.  
"Don't forget a play date for the not so little ones!" Francis smirks and I fume.  
"Not even close, you damn frog!"  
"You may not think so now, but I can guarantee that I'll have you falling head over heels for me eventually~" the man winks and I roll my eyes.  
"Just try to act appropriately, there will be two children present!"  
And speaking of two children, Matthew and Alfred come running back to us shortly after our conversation giggling to themselves.  
"What's made you two so happy?" I question them, gazing at them both  
"Matthew and I have decided that we'll be twin brothers!"  
"Alfred, that's not how it works" I laugh.  
"Well, where's your proof that we're not?" the boy laughs.  
"Alright, you two are brothers" Francis says and messes with the boys' hair.  
"We should go buy these clothes and get home" I say and take Alfred's hand. We walk to the front of the store and I pay for the clothes we had picked out.  
"Well, Arthur, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Francis smiles.  
"Yes, you could come by around 6 if that works for you" I shrug.  
"6 sounds fine, and we could even watch a movie afterwards. Wouldn't that be fun?"  
The boys cheer and I sigh.  
"I do like movies, I guess that would be alright. But it's only because I think the boys would also enjoy it"  
"Arthur, you're such a tsundere" Francis shakes his head with a sigh.  
"I am not, you idiot!" Francis snickers at my anger and I walk away with Alfred as soon as I'm done paying for the clothes, mumbling insults under my breath.  
"Daddy, are you and Mr. Francis friends?" Alfred asks suddenly. I stop for a second and think.  
"I'm not exactly sure what you could consider us" I admit.

Alfred and I arrive home and with a good portion of the day left to ourselves, we spend it putting away all of his new clothes, playing some of his favorite games, and soon enough I make dinner for him and get him ready for bed. Once he's fed, bathed, and asleep I have a little more time to think. In only two days, it feels like so much has already changed in my life, and whether or not that's a good thing or bad thing I have yet to tell. Either way, Alfred is meeting new friends, and after today I can't keep myself angry at Francis. Holding a grudge is far too immature and foolish anyways, there's no way to change the past, and we were just teenagers anyways. I smile as I think about that. Maybe we could salvage our old friendship we had years ago.

A/n: and that's the end of the second chapter! Look forward to the next part some time this week. Possibly tomorrow! Anyways, tell me what you think, who do you ship Canada and America with?


	3. Chapter 3

A/n- WOOH so I got the third chapter done! This was kinda a filler just to show a little more detail between Arthur and Francis's relationship. So this chapter is a little bit on the shorter side compared to the last two, sorry!

Sunday afternoon, Matthew and Alfred sit in the living room of our apartment playing various games that only the two of them understand. It brings a smile to my face to see the boys getting along so well, even if it means dealing with Francis. I seat myself in a chair in the kitchen, watching as Francis goes to work. I had no idea what he was making, but I could tell it was going to be good.

"Arthur, mind telling me why you wasted so much money on all this cooking supplies when you can't even cook an egg properly?" Francis teases

"Shut your mouth, just because I'm not the greatest cook doesn't mean I can't at least try to make more complex dishes" I retort and cast my gaze towards the floor.

"Poor Alfred, the poor boy has probably never had a decent meal while living with you" the Frenchman snickers.

"Can it, Frenchie!"

"Awe, Arthur, did I ever tell you how cute you look when you're angry?" he coos and I roll my eyes.

"You are such a child, you know that?"

Francis shrugs and gets back to cooking.

Once Francis had gotten close to finishing the dish he was preparing, I get both of the boys settled at the table and take my own seat.

"So, what is it that you have made?"

"Sole Meunière, it's a simple dish that I think you'll like. It's fish with a buttery sauce and lemon" Francis wears a proud smile as he serves the heavenly smelling dish.

"Well, if it tastes as good as it looks, I'd say it would be a pleasure to do this more often" I admit with a small smile.

"Any time, your company is a beautiful gift in itself" Francis says with a wink and I glare down at my plate as I feel a blush painting my cheeks.

"Whatever you say" I mumble venomously only to earn a chuckle.

"Arthur, you really can't take a compliment, can you?"

"I can, just not from frogs"

"Mr. Francis is a frog?" Alfred gasps "like in that fairytale with the princess and the frog?"

"So that would mean that if Mr. Arthur kissed papa, he'd turn into a prince" Matthew giggles.

"Ah, maybe we should try it" Francis grins

"Not a chance!" I scoff

"Awe, but daddy, if you and Mr. Francis got married Mattie and I would definitely be brothers" Alfred pouts

"Alfred, not you, too!" I cry out.

"Maybe one day they will, Mr. Arthur could wear a pretty white dress" Matthew adds

"You all have gone mad. I'm not a woman!" I practically whine while Francis only laughs at my expense.

"But you're the princess!" The boys cry in unison

"Maybe I was wrong, this was a terrible idea"

"Lighten up, bushy brows, you're just too easy to mess with" Francis grins.

"Yeah, Mr. Froggy is right!" Alfred beams and Francis looks at him with mortification. Now it was my turn to laugh.

We later set the boys up with a movie of their choice while I assist Francis with cleaning the dishes.

"So, did you have a particular movie in mind that you wanted to watch?" I ask as we walk to my room. Since the boys were watching their movie in the living room, we'd just have to use the TV in mine.

"Ah, yes. It's a movie about two high school sweethearts who break up and go on to marry other people. Then years later they're both single and-"

"Let me guess, they fall in love and live happily ever after" I roll my eyes with an unamused sigh.

"No, actually one of them is in a terrible car accident and dies" Francis says nonchalantly

"What kind of story is that?" I exclaim with a look of horror.

"I was just kidding, you were right" Francis laughs

"Your sense of humor is terrifying, and why do you expect me to watch a sappy romance, anyway?"

"Because it's cute and will probably make you blush again!"

"All the more reason for me to say no! There is no way in hell you're getting me to watch that!"

And with that we began watching the movie, despite my complaints. And believe me, there were a lot of them.

"This story is so cheesy, no one in their right mind behaves like this" I groan

"Why do you say that?" Francis looks away from the screen and over to me.

"They only dated for like a week in high school yet they spent their entire lives yearning for each other. You would think that by this point in their lives they would have moved on" I scowl at the screen. A silent pause passes before Francis speaks up.

"You would be surprised" He says simply and I turn to look at him with shock. For once this wasn't just his playful flirting.

"What is it that you mean by that?" I ask, my throat going a bit dry, this feeling felt familiar. Like when we were still in high school. The thought of him used to make my heart race, of course I didn't want to be foolish and ruin our friendship. I had seen so many good friendships end due to silly high school romances.

"Well, our situation was a little different from this one, we were never together. But don't think for a second that I didn't know how you felt for me." Francis smiles and I nod. Such a simple conversation brought to life so many thoughts. Maybe the movie wasn't so ridiculously unrealistic. I look away, and Francis's hand moves to my chin, gently tugging it towards himself.

"Arthur, look at me" with that I slowly look back at him. A warm smile covers his face and I'm tempted to look away again.

"How is it that you feel about me now?"

"I…."I trail off, how _do_ I feel about him? Up until recently I could have easily said I despised the man. With his incessant flirting and perverted nature, he could only come off as an annoyance. But if so, then why would my heart beat so rapidly at just the mention of any sort of romantic feelings?

"I'm not sure" I admit, once again looking down. I'm met with a laugh and I look up once again glaring at Francis.

"I'm sure you'll figure out for yourself soon" he grins.

After that night, things pretty much went back to normal. I worked and Yao babysat Alfred for me, and a couple days go by without hearing from Francis.

Wednesday while I was busy helping Elizaveta collect dishes and taking them to the kitchen to be washed, Antonio approached me with a smile.

"Arthur, someone specifically requested to be served by you" he announces and then walks over to the table which had given the request. I look over to see Francis, along with an albino male talking to Antonio. My jaw drops and Elizaveta passes by me.

"Oh, so is this the guy you were telling me about?" she asks with a giggle and I shush her and walk over to the table.

"Hello, Arthur" Francis says with a pleasant smile.

"What is it that you're doing here, frog face" I huff

"Do you always treat customers this way?"

"Most customers aren't so infuriating as to show up at an acquaintance's work place and request to be served by them" I cross my arms "and how did you even know I work here?"

"Ah, sorry, was I not supposed to tell him that?" Antonio laughs. "He told me he was your boyfriend"

"He is not!"

"Wow, he's cute and feisty" the Albino laughs obnoxiously

"Don't even think about it, Gilbert. He's mine!" Francis cuts in.

"I am not, we're not even in a relationship yet." I roll my eyes

"Yet?" the trio chime.

Heat rises into my face.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean?" Elizaveta pops in, eyes shining with excitement.

"I meant…" I trail off and growls "who cares, what are you doing here?"

"We're here to eat, of course!" I groan. Who knew the man could be such a headache.

"Antonio, aren't you supposed to be working?" I ask, rubbing my temples.

"I'm taking my break" Antonio grins. Of course, this little 'break' doesn't last long once Lovino walks out from the kitchen and drags him back. I get back to work and serve the frog along with his friend while Elizaveta inquiries about Francis, talking my ear off about how happy she is that I've found someone who can put up with me, despite my insistence that we're not in a relationship.

"Oh, Arthur, you may not be now, but I'm sure you two will be perfect for each other" Elizaveta laughs and I sigh.

"I have more important things to worry about than relationships" I dismiss her comment easily.

"You must be referring to Alfred, how's the little cutie doing, anyway?" She asks with a smile.

"He's fine, he actually became close with Francis's son" I smile.

"Awe, how cute!" Elizaveta laughs. I nod as I walk over to the table once again, handing the two a check.

After paying, Gilbert leaves quickly and Francis smiles at me.

"I hope to see you again soon, Arthur. Have a Nice day" he says with a wave.

"Maybe next time you pop up, it shouldn't be while I'm at work" I hiss. What a pain in the ass.

A/n- Now that this chapter is over with, the plot will most likely really get rolling in either the next chapter or the one after it! Either way, I wrote two chapters in two days for this story, so I'm going to update my fairy tail story next! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this, don't forget to review!


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